


More Than She Can Chew

by CavannaRose



Series: Jeanne Sadler, Agent of HYDRA [4]
Category: Jessica Jones (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Asset Retrieval, Gen, Hunting, Hydra (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:59:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7328440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CavannaRose/pseuds/CavannaRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeanne has finally made it back into HYDRA's good graces, but she's been sent on a mission to retrieve a power that even her superiors don't understand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jeanne had finally caught the attention of the new head of HYDRA's cell. It was almost disheartening, finding herself at the bottom again, but she was determined. Shite assignments were nothing when you had ambition, and she had that in spades. This was the path she had chosen for herself, and she would follow it to the end, wherever it might lead her. Hopefully, that path was to glory. Finally she was summoned up the hall, where the real assignments were given out. She took great care with her appearance before heading up. Uniform perfect, hair contained. She wanted to project the air of the perfect soldier. One the new head of HYDRA could have confidence in, not that she'd be seeing him anytime soon.

She knocked sharply on the briefing room door, standing at attention until she was allowed in. The officer's disinterested 'at ease' had her adopting an image of restfulness, even though she felt anything but. Clever brown eyes took in everything, and what they saw concerned her. Even the officers looked ragged, worn. As if they were fighting a war they knew they couldn't win. The whole room reeked of desperation, and she felt a hollow feeling form at the pit of her stomach. This had all the signs of a last ditch effort, something crazy that if successful would turn the tides in their favour.

"Jeanne Sadler, Parents: Louis Sadler, Jr: Designation Major Mapleleaf, and Zuzha Yu, Designation: Puck. Both members of Alpha Flight. Despite this, you have had years of devoted service within HYDRA. Your former commander spoke highly of you." She stood, hands tucked behind her back, staring straight ahead and not responding, They would tell her when they wished her to speak. "You're listed as a live retrieval expert, though your success rate is rather spotty. What do you have to say about that?"

"I'm sent after the people no one else can catch, Sirs. If occasionally I cannot either, then all I can say is... who else do you have that can even attempt the effort?" Boldness could be rewarded in these settings, but only if one was both careful and respectful about it. That was an ability she had mastered long before her own head of HYDRA had fallen.

The commander chuckled and tossed a file down on the desk. "Fair enough. There's your assignment. As you said, there is no one else who could even make the attempt. You have two weeks, soldier, and then we move to a different plan. Good luck."

She stepped forward, taking the files and then saluting before making her way back to her room. She was already plotting equipment, eyes running down the information about the target. British. A penchant for the finer things in life. Mind control? Well that was interesting. She'd gone up against a few telepaths before. Keep them busy enough, and they don't have time to concentrate, and you're fine. HYDRA intelligence had failed her before, though, so she was planning on scoping this target out thoroughly.

Two days later she was sitting at a table in a fancy restaurant, menu tilted back slightly so she could watch the man in the well cut purple suit. Everyone fluttered around to do as he said, as soon as he said it. Jeanne pursed her lips, the tacky feeling of the lipstick unfamiliar. Based on the file she'd had her hair and makeup professionally done, bought the most expensive dress she could find in a shimmering lavender, then had it altered at a tailor to flatter her athletic figure.

With a small, private smile on her face, she turned so that she was only in profile to the target, just at the corner of his vision, almost too many tables away to be heard. She gestures for the waiter, gracing him with the full force of that mysterious smile. "I'd like the Bucatini all’Amatriciana, if I may. It's my favourite." She ducked her head, looking up at him through her eyelashes, a practiced move that often turned the heads of onlookers. "An I see you have the Salvo Foti Etna Rosso, I'd prefer a glass to the entire bottle, as I'm dining alone, but I suppose I shall simply have to manage since it's only sold by the bottle." She gave a lilting little laugh, the very action making her wince internally. She hated undercover work.


	2. Chapter 2

He's known people are after him. Powerful people. But none of them mattered, not when he could control them with a single word. Or a couple of words, really. Every word is catered to, every person does as he says. It's the most perfect, unpleasant position to be in. Strolling amongst NYC's most stupidest helped a lot, too. Gangsters thinking they could kill him, when in reality, he would be the one killing them for even _trying_. Finally, he's got some time to himself. If he pays attention – carefully, he can tell everyone exactly what he needs them to do. And a soft, fond expression took over his face as he looked down at his phone, though. Jessica Jones, another beautiful picture sent for him to keep. And he couldn't even _think_.

The loudness of the lavish restaurant rattled his eardrums, and he opens his mouth to scream another, ❛BE Q U I E T, YOU ABSOLUTE MORONS.❜ but… something's caught his attention. Or, rather, someone. A woman. Neutral lipstick and makeup makes her face look radiant. And covering her body, a shimmering lavender dress… quite attractive, if he could say so himself. He soon came to notice that she was the only one in the small room who'd caught his eye. Most likely the shade of purple she wore. Or even the mysterious smile she wore. Kilgrave grabbed ahold of the nearest man's shirt collar, and pulled him down to whisper, ❛get that girl's n a m e for me, would you? And, offer to share that bottle of wine she's just asked for.❜ The brunette man was notorious for lip–reading, but he's a bit rusty at it. Pushing the man near the woman, he leans back and watches the show.

Jeanne watched the waiter approach, eyebrow raised on her face after the rather aggressive display from the man she was fairly certain was her target. Mayhap she had spent too long in military gear, she'd never turned heads that quickly, not in her memory. Then again, it wasn't really something she concerned herself with. Nothing could distract her from her goals. She would rise through the ranks of HYDRA, or die for their cause. Those were the only options. This... This was a role they wished her to play. She ducked her head as the waiter spoke, sliding a glance over to the man in purple as his little mission was being carried out.

When she turned her eyes back to the staff member, she couldn't hide that flash of disdain in her eyes. Weak willed idiot, blithely babbling along and doing what he was told. She'd sized him up in an instant. He wasn't a fighter, so he was barely worth her attention. To be fair, tonight's target didn't seem like a fighter either, but the file had put him in the danger category saved for jerks like James Buchanan Barnes and Steve Rogers.

She gave the waiter a half smile, one that definitely didn't make it to her eyes. She wouldn't waste the act on this bit of nothing. "Tell the gentleman my name is Jeanne, and I would be happy for the company, so long as he has something worth conversing about. I'd hate for him to come all the way across the room simply to bore me."

Her light laugh filled the space between them, silky, and surprisingly low for a woman. It was a practiced laugh. One that said, 'I'm already bored, but perhaps you might amuse me.' Truth be told, she'd learned it specifically for this mission, but she found she rather enjoyed the sound.


	3. Chapter 3

Hatred filled her eyes as she sized up the man Kilgrave had sent to her. Interesting. Perhaps she was sent by one of those HYDRA freaks, or even S.H.I.E.L.D., for that matter. Alas, he'd gotten on the government's bad side a while back when he asked a man to chop another's head off with an ax. It wasn't _his_ fault, the man was becoming a nuisance. How was he supposed to know he'd been sent in by S.H.I.E.L.D.? Nonetheless, he rules that as out of the question quite quickly.

A slow, easy smile slid across his features when she looks over at him. Lifting his wine glass up, he tips it to her before downing the expensive wine that he won't even pay for. As a silky laugh falls from her lips, Kilgrave looks over at the man who blabbering on about God knows what. He'd only asked the man to do two things. _Two_ things, and he couldn't even do that. The cretin had basically stolen that delightful laugh from him It should have been his. Rolling his eyes, Kilgrave can see the man sweating as he walks back over to the table. This man was a _menace_. How disgusting. He doesn't even reach for the man's shirt collar like he'd done before – it's _that_ drenched in sweat.

After he learns the attractive woman's name, he dismisses the man and tells him to go drown himself in a river somewhere. Vile men who don't mop up their sweat, or at least have a towel to fix himself up, deserve to be punished in his book. Kilgrave inspects his teeth in the nearest window, behind a table full of people where the girl couldn't see him. . . "Do I look g o o d?" He asks the woman sitting nearest to him, and then answers himself, "Of course I do, shut u p."

Standing up, and walking over to Jeanne, he smiles charmingly. "What's a beautiful girl like y o u doing in a place like t h i s?"

The effort it took to melt the chill from her gaze into something warm and welcoming was more than Jeanne was happy to admit. The man had everyone dancing attendance on his every whim, according to his dossier, but the best line he could fork over for her was /that/? No act in the world could make her pick up that kind of offer, not and still respect herself in the morning. So she went with the dismissal that was banging around in her head. Maybe he'd lash out, maybe he'd play the game. There wasn't enough info in his file to really give her a good gauge on his personality. He was an unknown.

"I believe I told your errand boy that you were only invited over if you weren't going to bore me. I hope your lines improve, sirrah." She tossed her silky black hair back over her shoulder, letting it fall, long and straight, in a cascade down her back. Her well-manicured fingers trailed along the edge of her wineglass, lips pursed in an exaggerated moue. Pouting was not her style, but she needed to test the man, didn't she? She dipped a finger into the glass, idly flicking droplets of the expensive vintage at the table beside them, causing the older woman there to blush and look away. Jeanne definitely didn't want an audience.

With a sigh she leaned back in the chair, posing like a languid cat, knees crossed in a fashion that hiked her designer dress a little too far up the thigh for decent company, revealing the lacy edge of her deep violet garters. "Come now, darling. Give us something a little more interesting. At least the sweaty waiter made me laugh."


	4. Chapter 4

Kilgrave's lips purse as he stares down at the beautiful woman in the violet dress. He's rather smitten with her, mostly because of the color she deigned to wear. Not many women could look good in his favorite color, after all. He hasn't really been in the dating game, not since. . . well, Jessica. He loved her, she allowed him to get run over by a _bus_ for Christ's sake, and he still loves her even now. Maybe this woman, Jeanne, could take his mind off of her. For a short period of time, at least. The brunette beauty's mouth opens to speak and suddenly. . . he likes the woman even more. He hasn't conversed with many people who haven't tried to kill him, so. This will,  quite literally -- be a new experience for the young man.

"Me, boring? Depends, really. What would y o u like to  talk about, hm? Be h o n e s t." Placing his will over any woman never really hinted anything more than a mental combat. Sometimes, he wasn't even sure of when he used his powers on anyone. It just. . . sort of happened. Right now, he needed to hear a little bit of truth from the wonderful woman who'd captured his attention. Otherwise, she'd be wasting _his_ time. He's pretty sure everyone at the bar knows what it means to waste his time. The sweaty waiter should be drowning himself soon enough, thankfully.

"Actually -- n o. Wait, let me guess." He places a finger over the woman's lips to keep her quiet. "You came here looking for f u n. I'm right, aren't I?" He turns a curious eye at the lady, his broad arms widening. "And what better place to do it, than at a b a r?"

She felt that subtle thread of compulsion that Kilgrave's words held. She was pretty sure many wouldn't, it was just a light little nudge, a whispered suggestion in the back of her mind, delicate as the batting of a butterfly's wings. But Jeanne worked for HYDRA. Everything they do tried to worm itself into your subconscious. She wouldn't let  _them_ turn her into a brainless, over-devoted soldier for the cause, she certainly wasn't going to let this man wipe away her will... or at least she was going to try not to. Still, her lips were parting to share the details of her favourite topic when his finger pressed against her painted lips. She was glad she'd worn expensive lipstick, it wouldn't smear or transfer. She had an odd feeling that he'd not care for something that messy. 

Jeanne did not like to be touched. Particularly around her face. Perhaps it was so many years fighting, or perhaps it was being female in what was very much a man's world, but she had a reputation for being prickly and hands off. Her shoulders stiffened, but she had a cover to maintain, so instead of protesting she just pulled away, using the opportunity to make eye contact with the notorious Purple Man once more. She softened the corner of her eyes, letting a smile uptilt one corner of her mouth.

"Fun is such a... broad concept. Even were I to claim such as my reason for being here tonight, how much would that really give away?" She laughed, lounging back in her chair and nodding lightly to the free seat, inviting Kilgrave to sit and stay a spell. "At a risk of ruining the game, I must admit it was the calibre of the wine that lured me to this particular watering hole. They have startlingly good vintages, if you know how to ask and have the coin."

She lifted her glass again, taking a small sip of the vintage and weighing her words carefully. The trick was peppering enough truth through everything that the tale rang true. She had come here due to the wine, because they had heard he enjoyed the finer things, and there were rare stocks here that would certainly call to that part of him. She didn't actually mind that much, the wine was fantastic after all.

"What about you, sir? Do you have a name? What brought you out this evening?" She gave him another teasing smile. "Tit for tat, after all. I told you."


	5. Chapter 5

Well. . . wasn't she a strong one. Holding out for as long as she did without answering his question, he could only come up with one conclusion. Either she's been recently brainwashed, (which could lead him to HYDRA, if he were lucky) or she's a rather strong individual. He's never met one quite like Jessica, but it just proves his compulsion _has_ grown weak to the stronger minds of this generation. He rolls his eyes, and waves a hand as she leans away from his touch. A natural reaction to a wanted man such as him. His teeth grit, but he falls into the chair offered to him by Jeanne.

She _is_ beautiful, whether he likes it or not. Not to mention, the shimmering purple dress fit her figure divinely. It was hard to admit, but maybe he had a weakness for the color. His heart had been in a tough situation, with Hope Shlottman. He'd learned his lesson with her; that no one would ever amount to Jessica's abilities. Too bad he can't read minds. Otherwise he'd know Jeanne's thoughts, her deepest desires, what made her /tick/ within a few short seconds. The brunette man not only loved to mess with other people's minds; if only his victims knew how he didn't have any sympathy for them when he told them to go kill themselves. He met her gaze, the corner of his lips curving into a frown. The male nods slowly, his attention never leaving the charming woman before him.

Maybe his mind was wrong. Maybe this one would be better than Jessica. Only time would tell, of course. Yet. . . he can feel a sort of resistance to his mind control, here. He'll have to inquire about it later. But for now -- he'd just like to enjoy the expensive wine and food the place had to offer.

“If you could choose anything on the menu, what would you pick? I'll pay for it. Zebediah Kilgrave. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, love.” Lifting his glass of delicate wine up into a salute, he downs the contents in less than 10 seconds. This is one of the few times he's ever encountered such a divine woman. And, okay. He may have drunk too much in one go. His calculations couldn't have been any worse. Kilgrave's thoughts were filled with one thing -- he wished to bring this girl to her completion, or she would die in the process.


End file.
